Back with the Turtles

"Master Splinter, Bishop has Ryoko!" Leo shouted as he and his two brothers ran into the lair.

"What, so he decided to kidnap her? Bish apparently doesn't realize she isn't a mutant," Raph said.

"She may not be a mutant on the outside, but I had been doing some research on her and her family, and they are well known mercenaries," Don said.

"This we already knew, Brainiac," Raph said.

"Yes, but the reports of their jobs are almost…unnatural. Her family appears to have many superhuman characteristics. Like they were genetically engineered. What's weird is that the entire family seemed to have them, almost like the abilities were genetically inherited. Bishop may want to utilize her DNA to create an army," Don said, concern in his eyes.

"Hey, let him use her, we don't need her," Raph said.

Leo narrowed his eyes and stalked towards his brother. "Raph, I don't get you. Why do you not even care what happens to her? Why don't you care that she is in BISHOP'S labs where he performs grotesque and horrible experiments on people? You WANT her to go through that?" he growled.

Raph narrowed his eyes. "I don't trust her and if Bishop wants to do something with her, then he can. She's not my friend," he growled back.

Leo shook his head. "Fine, don't come with, but as soon as we find Bishop's lab, we are going to break her out of there," he said.

Master Splinter shook his head.

A Few Minutes Later

"Alright guys, I found it. It is downtown Manhattan," Don said.

"Alright, let's go guys," Leo said. Raph started to follow. Leo looked at him. "Why are you coming? You don't care what happens to her," he said coolly.

"I'm not going to let you guys hog all the fun," Raph said. Leo shook his head.

"Fine," he said, than they headed out.

Back with Ryoko

She lay in bed, resting. She was not sure when they were coming in to take her for the next round of tests, but she figured she should try to rest up as much as she could. She heard her door open up and she sighed, rolling over to get up for the next round of tests. When she was turned over, she jerked up, eyes wide. "Michelangelo?" she asked, not believing her eyes.

"Hey bros, I found her. Third door down the right hall," he said into his walkie-talkie. He ran towards Ryoko and grabbed her hand and started to drag her towards the door.

"Michelangelo, wait, I can't go," she said as she pulled her hand out of his.

Mikey turned around. "Call me Mikey, and why can't you come? We came to rescue you," he said, puzzled. Ryoko looked around, scared, when the others came in.

"Ryoko!" Leo shouted, running towards her and wrapping his arms around her. Her eyes got wide. "At least you seem ok, did Bishop do anything to you?" he asked, pushing her out to arm's length.

Ryoko shook her head, dumbfounded. "She said she can't go with us, Leo!" Mikey exclaimed.

The other three turtle's brows furrowed as they looked at the girl. "I promised Bishop that if I stayed and did everything he needed, he would leave you guys alone…permanently. I don't know all the details between you guys and him, but I don't wish to put your lives in danger for mine. So leave, while you still have the time," Ryoko said, pushing them away.

"No, we aren't going to leave you," Leo said, grabbing her.

"Leo, just leave her. She doesn't want to be with us. Can't you see that she is trying to get away from us?" Raph said.

Leo whirled on Raph. "Look, I don't know what your problem is with her, but stop it! All of this mistrust is currently unfounded."

Leo opened his mouth to say something else, but Ryoko interrupted. "I hate to interrupt this family feud, but you guys need to get out of here. NOW!" she said as she pushed them towards the door.

Leo whirled back to her and grabbed her arm. "We are not leaving without you, now come on!" he shouted, running with her in tow. She pulled her arm out of his hand.

"Leo! Stop! There is something else going on, something I need to figure out. Bishop has been nice to me, and I want to know why. He says it's to protect my emotional health, but I have a feeling that is not the truth at all. Even if it is, I want to know why he cares about mine and not his other experiments. Please, let me stay. Let me find out. If he lets me go, I will come back. I promise," she said, eyes pleading.

Leo looked at her eyes. Don looked at him. "We can't leave her here, Leo."

"Sure we can," Raph said.

"No, we can't! She is a flower that needs protecting," Mikey said. Ryoko looked at him, eyebrow arched.

Leo shook his head, then looked at her. "You promise you'll come back to us?" he asked.

Ryoko nodded. "Yes, I promise."

Leo took a breath. "Ok, we'll let you stay." Ryoko smiled.

"Thank you, Leo. Now, you guys got to get out of here before…"

"Before what?" Bishop said as he came in through the door.

"Before you came," she said, groaning.

Bishop looked at the four turtles. "Look at what we have here. A rescue operation? Ryoko, were you going to leave with them?" he asked.

She ran to be in between him and the turtles. "No, I wasn't going to leave, Bishop. My family may be mercenaries, but we don't break promises. I promised I would stay until the end, and I will," she said, eyes firm and steadfast.

Bishop nodded. "I trust you. However, I cannot let the turtles leave."

Ryoko shook her head, eyes flashing. "You have to. I am upholding my part of the bargain. You said you would not harm them or hunt them."

"I did promise that," Bishop mused, then turned to the turtles. "You can go, thanks to your friend's plea. But hurry, before I change my mind." Ryoko breathed a sigh of relief.

She turned towards the others. "Be safe, ok?" she said.

Leo nodded. "We will." He looked at Bishop. "Come on, guys, let's go," he said as he turned and ran out of the room. Don and Mikey looked at her sadly, then waved and followed Leo. Raph was on their tails, before he stopped and turned to look back. Bishop walked towards Ryoko. She stood there, defiance in her eyes. Raph watched as Bishop stretched out his hand and stroked a piece of her hair out of her face, then stroked her cheek. Ryoko jerked her head away slightly. Raph's eyes widened, then he turned to follow his brothers.

Bishop gazed down at Ryoko. "Why do you look at me that way?" she asked calmly.

"Look at you in what way?" he asked.

"Tenderly, gently. You don't seem to be that kind of man," she said.

"Perhaps, but even men like me can be tender and gentle," Bishop said.

She laughed. "I find that hard to believe."

"Perhaps, but you remind me so much of a woman I loved. She was the only woman I cared for in that way." He turned away from Ryoko.

"May I ask what her name was?" Ryoko asked, coming up behind him and placing her hand on his shoulder.

"Awel," he said quietly.

Ryoko's eyes widened. "Awel?" she said quietly.

Bishop nodded, then he whirled around towards her. "Pretend I never said that."

Ryoko smirked. "I will pretend with others that you didn't say it, but I won't pretend with you."

Bishop growled. "Fine. Sleep well. You have a long day of testing tomorrow," he said shortly.

Ryoko stood at attention and saluted. "Yessir!" she shouted. Bishop glared at her. She shrugged. "What? I was giving you a salute, sir." Bishop would have loved to roll his eyes, but he didn't. He just shook his head and continued walking out. Ryoko grinned. After he left, her grin disappeared. "Awel," she said quietly.